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By Buzz King -- @Fieldof68Freak on X
A look at Week 1 of the college basketball season, starting with our weekly “Field of 68” projection. Please peruse and (hopefully) enjoy at your leisure.
The projected automatic qualifier in a multiple-bid conference is noted with an *. When the NCAA releases its initial NET rankings, the weekly projection will include team rankings. Until then, teams will be listed alphabetically instead of by their NET ranking.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through November 9, 2024)
America East (1): UMass-Lowell
American (1): Memphis
ACC (5): Clemson, *Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt
ASUN (1): Lipscomb
Atlantic 10 (2): *Dayton, VCU
Big East (5): Creighton, Marquette, Saint John’s, *UConn, Xavier
Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado
Big South (1): High Point
Big Ten (9): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon, *Purdue, Rutgers
Big XII (10): Arizona, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, *Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, UCF
Big West (1): UC-Irvine
Coastal (1): College of Charleston
Conference USA (1): Louisiana Tech
Horizon (1): Purdue Fort Wayne
Ivy (1): Princeton
MAAC (1): Merrimack
MAC (1): Kent State
MEAC (1): Norfolk State
Missouri Valley (1): Bradley
Mountain West (3): *Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico
NEC (1): Central Connecticut
OVC (1): Little Rock
Patriot (1): Bucknell
SEC (9): *Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M
SoCon (1): Wofford
Southland (1): McNeese
SWAC (1): Grambling State
Summit (1): South Dakota State
Sun Belt (1): Arkansas State
WCC (2): *Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s
WAC (1): Grand Canyon
--------------------------------------
Last 4 In: BYU, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Nevada
First 4 Out: Notre Dame, TCU, UCLA, Utah State
Next 4 Out: Miami-Florida, Penn State, Providence, San Francisco
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Nevada, New Mexico, Saint Mary’s, VCU
-----------------------------------------
POWER 5 HEAD-TO-HEAD (Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s & San Diego State awarded Power 5 status)
Big Ten (1-0)
Gonzaga (1-0)
Big XII (3-2)
SEC (2-3)
Big East (0-0)
Saint Mary’s (0-0)
San Diego State (0-0)
ACC (0-2)
(TEAM) RECORD vs. POWER 5
Auburn (1-0)
Gonzaga (1-0)
Kansas (1-0)
Ohio State (1-0)
Tennessee (1-0)
UCF (1-0)
Baylor (1-1)
Arkansas (0-1)
Houston (0-1)
Louisville (0-1)
North Carolina (0-1)
Texas (0-1)
Texas A&M (0-1)
(CONFERENCE) NON-POWER 5 WINS vs. POWER 5
Atlantic 10 (3): Dayton over Northwestern, Fordham over Seton Hall, VCU over Boston College
ASUN (2) – Austin Peay over Butler, North Florida over South Carolina
Mountain West (2): Nevada over Washington, New Mexico over UCLA
American (1) -- Memphis over Missouri
Ivy League (1) -- Columbia over Villanova
(TEAM) NON-POWER 5 WINS vs. POWER 5
Austin Peay (1)
Columbia (1)
Dayton (1)
Fordham (1)
Memphis (1)
Nevada (1)
New Mexico (1)
North Florida (1)
VCU (1)
GOPHERS NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS (record vs. D1 opponents in parentheses)
Bethune-Cookman (0-2)
Central Michigan (1-1)
Cleveland State (0-2)
Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1)
Florida (2-0)
Morgan State (0-2)
North Texas (1-0)
Omaha (1-1)
Oral Roberts (0-1)
Wake Forest (2-0)
Wichita State (2-0)
Yale (1-1)
Totals: (10-11, 47.6%)
ST. THOMAS (D1) NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS (record vs. D1 opponents in parentheses)
Arizona State (2-0)
Bowling Green (0-2)
Chicago State (0-2)
Green Bay (0-2)
Milwaukee (0-1)
Montana (0-1)
Northern Colorado (0-1)
Oklahoma State (1-0)
Portland State (0-1)
UC-Riverside (0-2)
Western Michigan (0-1)
Wofford (0-1)
Totals: (3-14, 17.6%)
THE TENUOUS TRIO
Here you’ll find a weekly opine on the 3 Big Ten teams tracking toward an early end to their 2024-25 season (no invitation to Indianapolis & the Big Ten Tournament). Once we get into the heart of the Big Ten season we’ll use the Big Ten standings, but until then it’s eye test & gut feeling. Full disclosure: I have yet to see all 18 teams play but have seen bits & pieces of most.
Minnesota (2-0)
USC (2-0)
Washington (1-1)
BRACKET RACKET
There are 27 bracketed tournaments in November/December. The first one tips off Friday.
Greenbrier (River) Tip-Off (Nov. 15-16)
Charleston Southern vs. UTRGV
Tennessee Tech vs. VMI
The Pick: UTRGV
FIRST WEEK IMPRESSIONS
Todd Golden (Florida coach): If the allegations prove to be true, yo, what are you thinking? You’re an up-and-coming young coach, and this (allegedly) is how you behave? If allegations are legit, this is what pure stupidity and lack of human decency/self-control looks like.
Opening Eyes Early
ASUN – a pair of wins over the Power 5
Central Connecticut – 1-1 road trip (Providence/Saint Joseph’s) showed Blue Devils are NEC favorite
Dayton – nice 71-66 home win over Northwestern, though Wildcats were without Brooks Barnhizer
Gonzaga – my preseason national champions boat-raced Baylor, 101-63
Jamal Mashburn Jr. (Temple) – former Gopher averaging 25.5 ppg, 72.7% from 3
Memphis – 2-0 with solid wins over Mizzou and @ UNLV
Michigan – Dare I say, Wolverines might have the best roster in Big Ten?
Miles Barnstable (St. Thomas) – athletic UW-Whitewater transfer averaging 19.5 ppg, 45.5% from 3
Nelly Joseph (New Mexico) – early double-double machine averaging 22 ppg & 14 rpg for 2-0 Lobos
Nick Martinelli (Northwestern) – my guy Nick putting up 28 ppg & 11.3 rpg
Penn State – Nittany Lions averaging 105.5 ppg in 2 blowout wins
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) – 49 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 20 for 22 from the field vs. UTRGV
Siena – Saints sucked last season, 2-0 under new coach/former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara
South Dakota State – Jacks 2-0 with wins over 2024 NCAA tourney teams McNeese & Long Beach St
Show Me Something
Atlantic 10 – As usual can count on Dayton & VCU, but what else is there?
Big East – on the surface 19-3 doesn’t sound too bad, but 6 single-digit wins vs. bad teams
Bradley – no shame in losing @ Wazzu but didn’t expect preseason MVC favorites to get thumped
Gophers – scare vs. Omaha (picked #7 in Summit League) is troubling, outplayed most of the way
Kyle Neptune – ‘Nova coach already was on a hot seat, now it’s sizzlin’ after home loss to Columbia
McNeese – “strong a*s” preseason hype for Will Wade’s squad, then drop season opener to SDSU
Texas – didn’t like the ‘Horns preseason and that has not changed after Week 1
Tim Miles – Spartans are 0-2, and the rebuild @ San Jose State is crawling at a turtle’s pace
UCLA – there’s talent but it may take a while to gel
USC – see above (UCLA)
Wake Forest – High expectations for Demon Deacs but have looked blah” despite 2-0 start
WEEK 2 POWER 5 HEAD-TO-HEAD
Sunday
Michigan vs. Wake Forest
Arizona State @ Gonzaga
Tuesday
Duke vs. Kentucky
Kansas vs. Michigan State
Wednesday
Cal @ Vanderbilt
Thursday
LSU @ Kansas State
Friday
Alabama @ Purdue
Arizona @ Wisconsin
SMU @ Butler
Florida @ Florida State
Georgia @ Georgia Tech
Marquette @ Maryland
TCU @ Michigan
Ohio State @ Texas A&M
Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
West Virginia @ Pitt
Villanova vs. Virginia
Saturday
Notre Dame @ Georgetown
South Carolina @ Indiana
Wake Forest @ Xavier
LOCAL LOWDOWN
Gophers – 2-0, #66 in KenPom rankings
Tommies -- 2-0, #180 in KenPom
WEEK 1 TEAM OF THE WEEK
Columbia – the Lions’ 3-0 start included a 90-80 win @ Villanova. #RestoreTheRoar
Runner-Up: Memphis: the Tigers opened the season playing 2 non-cupcakes, beating Mizzou 83-75 in Memphis & UNLV 80-74 in Vegas
Next (planned) Field of 68 musings: Sunday, Nov. 17
A look at Week 1 of the college basketball season, starting with our weekly “Field of 68” projection. Please peruse and (hopefully) enjoy at your leisure.
The projected automatic qualifier in a multiple-bid conference is noted with an *. When the NCAA releases its initial NET rankings, the weekly projection will include team rankings. Until then, teams will be listed alphabetically instead of by their NET ranking.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through November 9, 2024)
America East (1): UMass-Lowell
American (1): Memphis
ACC (5): Clemson, *Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt
ASUN (1): Lipscomb
Atlantic 10 (2): *Dayton, VCU
Big East (5): Creighton, Marquette, Saint John’s, *UConn, Xavier
Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado
Big South (1): High Point
Big Ten (9): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon, *Purdue, Rutgers
Big XII (10): Arizona, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, *Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, UCF
Big West (1): UC-Irvine
Coastal (1): College of Charleston
Conference USA (1): Louisiana Tech
Horizon (1): Purdue Fort Wayne
Ivy (1): Princeton
MAAC (1): Merrimack
MAC (1): Kent State
MEAC (1): Norfolk State
Missouri Valley (1): Bradley
Mountain West (3): *Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico
NEC (1): Central Connecticut
OVC (1): Little Rock
Patriot (1): Bucknell
SEC (9): *Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M
SoCon (1): Wofford
Southland (1): McNeese
SWAC (1): Grambling State
Summit (1): South Dakota State
Sun Belt (1): Arkansas State
WCC (2): *Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s
WAC (1): Grand Canyon
--------------------------------------
Last 4 In: BYU, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Nevada
First 4 Out: Notre Dame, TCU, UCLA, Utah State
Next 4 Out: Miami-Florida, Penn State, Providence, San Francisco
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Nevada, New Mexico, Saint Mary’s, VCU
-----------------------------------------
POWER 5 HEAD-TO-HEAD (Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s & San Diego State awarded Power 5 status)
Big Ten (1-0)
Gonzaga (1-0)
Big XII (3-2)
SEC (2-3)
Big East (0-0)
Saint Mary’s (0-0)
San Diego State (0-0)
ACC (0-2)
(TEAM) RECORD vs. POWER 5
Auburn (1-0)
Gonzaga (1-0)
Kansas (1-0)
Ohio State (1-0)
Tennessee (1-0)
UCF (1-0)
Baylor (1-1)
Arkansas (0-1)
Houston (0-1)
Louisville (0-1)
North Carolina (0-1)
Texas (0-1)
Texas A&M (0-1)
(CONFERENCE) NON-POWER 5 WINS vs. POWER 5
Atlantic 10 (3): Dayton over Northwestern, Fordham over Seton Hall, VCU over Boston College
ASUN (2) – Austin Peay over Butler, North Florida over South Carolina
Mountain West (2): Nevada over Washington, New Mexico over UCLA
American (1) -- Memphis over Missouri
Ivy League (1) -- Columbia over Villanova
(TEAM) NON-POWER 5 WINS vs. POWER 5
Austin Peay (1)
Columbia (1)
Dayton (1)
Fordham (1)
Memphis (1)
Nevada (1)
New Mexico (1)
North Florida (1)
VCU (1)
GOPHERS NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS (record vs. D1 opponents in parentheses)
Bethune-Cookman (0-2)
Central Michigan (1-1)
Cleveland State (0-2)
Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1)
Florida (2-0)
Morgan State (0-2)
North Texas (1-0)
Omaha (1-1)
Oral Roberts (0-1)
Wake Forest (2-0)
Wichita State (2-0)
Yale (1-1)
Totals: (10-11, 47.6%)
ST. THOMAS (D1) NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS (record vs. D1 opponents in parentheses)
Arizona State (2-0)
Bowling Green (0-2)
Chicago State (0-2)
Green Bay (0-2)
Milwaukee (0-1)
Montana (0-1)
Northern Colorado (0-1)
Oklahoma State (1-0)
Portland State (0-1)
UC-Riverside (0-2)
Western Michigan (0-1)
Wofford (0-1)
Totals: (3-14, 17.6%)
THE TENUOUS TRIO
Here you’ll find a weekly opine on the 3 Big Ten teams tracking toward an early end to their 2024-25 season (no invitation to Indianapolis & the Big Ten Tournament). Once we get into the heart of the Big Ten season we’ll use the Big Ten standings, but until then it’s eye test & gut feeling. Full disclosure: I have yet to see all 18 teams play but have seen bits & pieces of most.
Minnesota (2-0)
USC (2-0)
Washington (1-1)
BRACKET RACKET
There are 27 bracketed tournaments in November/December. The first one tips off Friday.
Greenbrier (River) Tip-Off (Nov. 15-16)
Charleston Southern vs. UTRGV
Tennessee Tech vs. VMI
The Pick: UTRGV
FIRST WEEK IMPRESSIONS
Todd Golden (Florida coach): If the allegations prove to be true, yo, what are you thinking? You’re an up-and-coming young coach, and this (allegedly) is how you behave? If allegations are legit, this is what pure stupidity and lack of human decency/self-control looks like.
Opening Eyes Early
ASUN – a pair of wins over the Power 5
Central Connecticut – 1-1 road trip (Providence/Saint Joseph’s) showed Blue Devils are NEC favorite
Dayton – nice 71-66 home win over Northwestern, though Wildcats were without Brooks Barnhizer
Gonzaga – my preseason national champions boat-raced Baylor, 101-63
Jamal Mashburn Jr. (Temple) – former Gopher averaging 25.5 ppg, 72.7% from 3
Memphis – 2-0 with solid wins over Mizzou and @ UNLV
Michigan – Dare I say, Wolverines might have the best roster in Big Ten?
Miles Barnstable (St. Thomas) – athletic UW-Whitewater transfer averaging 19.5 ppg, 45.5% from 3
Nelly Joseph (New Mexico) – early double-double machine averaging 22 ppg & 14 rpg for 2-0 Lobos
Nick Martinelli (Northwestern) – my guy Nick putting up 28 ppg & 11.3 rpg
Penn State – Nittany Lions averaging 105.5 ppg in 2 blowout wins
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) – 49 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 20 for 22 from the field vs. UTRGV
Siena – Saints sucked last season, 2-0 under new coach/former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara
South Dakota State – Jacks 2-0 with wins over 2024 NCAA tourney teams McNeese & Long Beach St
Show Me Something
Atlantic 10 – As usual can count on Dayton & VCU, but what else is there?
Big East – on the surface 19-3 doesn’t sound too bad, but 6 single-digit wins vs. bad teams
Bradley – no shame in losing @ Wazzu but didn’t expect preseason MVC favorites to get thumped
Gophers – scare vs. Omaha (picked #7 in Summit League) is troubling, outplayed most of the way
Kyle Neptune – ‘Nova coach already was on a hot seat, now it’s sizzlin’ after home loss to Columbia
McNeese – “strong a*s” preseason hype for Will Wade’s squad, then drop season opener to SDSU
Texas – didn’t like the ‘Horns preseason and that has not changed after Week 1
Tim Miles – Spartans are 0-2, and the rebuild @ San Jose State is crawling at a turtle’s pace
UCLA – there’s talent but it may take a while to gel
USC – see above (UCLA)
Wake Forest – High expectations for Demon Deacs but have looked blah” despite 2-0 start
WEEK 2 POWER 5 HEAD-TO-HEAD
Sunday
Michigan vs. Wake Forest
Arizona State @ Gonzaga
Tuesday
Duke vs. Kentucky
Kansas vs. Michigan State
Wednesday
Cal @ Vanderbilt
Thursday
LSU @ Kansas State
Friday
Alabama @ Purdue
Arizona @ Wisconsin
SMU @ Butler
Florida @ Florida State
Georgia @ Georgia Tech
Marquette @ Maryland
TCU @ Michigan
Ohio State @ Texas A&M
Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
West Virginia @ Pitt
Villanova vs. Virginia
Saturday
Notre Dame @ Georgetown
South Carolina @ Indiana
Wake Forest @ Xavier
LOCAL LOWDOWN
Gophers – 2-0, #66 in KenPom rankings
Tommies -- 2-0, #180 in KenPom
WEEK 1 TEAM OF THE WEEK
Columbia – the Lions’ 3-0 start included a 90-80 win @ Villanova. #RestoreTheRoar
Runner-Up: Memphis: the Tigers opened the season playing 2 non-cupcakes, beating Mizzou 83-75 in Memphis & UNLV 80-74 in Vegas
Next (planned) Field of 68 musings: Sunday, Nov. 17
